Can you speak Italian? By now, many of you have passed the beginning stages of learning how to speak Italian and can read and comprehend quite a bit of the language. Meraviglioso!

But have you tried to take the next step to speak Italian fluently? Can you talk about Italian movies? Or any movie, using Italian terms? Do you know the correct phrases to use to talk about love and relationships in Italian?

Can you speak Italian the way you would speak in your native language, with complex and varied sentences? This is more difficult than it may seem at first, and it’s something that I am always working on!

This series will focus on the situations that have come up most frequently in my everyday conversations with Italian instructors and friends. The “Speak Italian” blog series willfocus on the type of sentence structure and vocabulary we all need to remember to be more fluent when we speak Italian!

To take that giant step from simple beginning sentences to more complex and fluid sentences in Italian, we must know how to use essential grammar, such as how to use the words “che” and “qualche,” how to make phrases to describe beginnings and endings, how to form Italian direct and indirect object pronouns, and how to make command phrases.

In the “Speak Italian” blog series, a short essay or dialogue in Italian will be presented about a common topic of conversation. Then, we will review the Italian grammar that is necessary to talk about the particular topic in detail. And finally, the same material will be presented in Italian and English, with blanks for the reader to fill in with descriptions from his or her own life or to practice verb conjugation! Remember these examples as “anchors” in your knowledge for when you must speak Italian in your next conversation!

Enjoy the fourth topic in this series, “Speak Italian: About Italian Movies and Love”—Kathryn Occhipinti

In the dialogue to follow, we listen in on a telephone call between two good Italian friends who are sharing thoughts about a famous Italian movie. The movie is about a love story that takes place during World War II. Common idiomatic expressions used when talking with a friend, vocabulary related to the movies, and phrases about love have been underlined.

Listening to foreign films is a wonderful way to learn another language. The movie described contains short sentences spoken in clear Italian and is a good place to start to build a vocabulary about relationships and love. Spoiler alert: The only real violence is at the very end of the movie, although the movie title is Violent Summer.

“È un film molto importante nella storia del cinema italiano perché è ambientato alla fine della Seconda Guerra Mondiale.
“It is a very important film in the history of Italian cinema because it takes place at the end of the Second World War.

È un film molto lirico e appasisonato, perché è una storia d’amore.It is a very lyrical and passionate film, because it is a love story.

La storia dei due personaggi principali è cominciata quando i due amanti si sono incontrati sulla spiaggia a Rimini.The story of the two main characters started when the two lovers met each other for the first time on the beach at Rimini.

Suo marito, che era un capitano nell’esercito italiano, era appena morto. Roberta aveva una figlia di tre anni e viveva con la madre a Rimini, per scappare dalla guerra a Bologna.Her husband, who was a captain in the Italian army, had just died. She had a three-year-old daughter and lived with her mother at Rimini, in order to escape from the war in Bologna.

Roberta ha incontrato un ragazzo che si chiamava Carlo e che era molto più govane di lei, durante un’incursione aerea sulla spiaggia.Roberta met a boy who was called Carl and who was much younger than her, during an air raid on the beach.

Il momento in cui Carlo ha visto Roberta, gli è piaciuta subito. Dopo il primo incontro sulla spiaggia, lui ha perso la testa per lei.When Carl first saw Roberta, he liked her right away. After their first meeting on the beach, he lost his head over her (English = fell head over heels for her/fell madly in love with her).

Cosi, Carlo ha incominciato a fare la corte a Roberta.
So, Carl started to court Roberta. (English = Carl tried to get Roberta to be his girlfriend.)

Dopo un po’, i due hanno cominciato a uscire insieme. Si sono visti ogni giorno. A Roberta piaceva molto il suo rapporto con Carlo. Lo amava.After a while, the two of them started to go out together. They saw each other every day. And Roberta really liked her relationship with Carl. She loved him.

A un certo punto, gli amanti hanno provato a scappare a Bologna in treno.At a certain point, the lovers tried to escape to Bologna on the train.

Ma è successa una cosa brutta che io non ti dirò perché spero che tu guaderai questo film.”But something bad happened that I will not tell you because I hope that you will watch this film.”

“Dai, dimmi!”“Come on, tell me!”

“Sfortunamente la loro storiasi è chiusa in malo modo. Invece, speravo che la loro storia fosse terminata bene. Non ne voglio parlare.”“Unfortunately, their romanceended in a bad way. I wish that their story had ended in a good way instead. I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Capisco. La fine della storia fra Roberta e Carlo era molto triste. Non mi piace quando la fine di un film è cosi.”“I understand. The end of the relationship between Roberta and Carlo was very sad. I don’t like when a film ends like this.”

“Ma gli attori hanno ricitato le loro parte molto bene in questo film. Se vuoi, ti lo do e puoi vedere per te stessa.”
“But the actors played their parts very well in this film. If you want, I will give it to you, and you can see for yourself.”

“Si certamente vale la penaguardare questo fillm! Ed anche per capire l’Italia durante il dopoguerra.”“Yes, it is certainly worth itto see (watch) this movie! And to understand Italy during the aftermath of the war.”

“Ci parliamo dopo e tu dimmi che ne pensi!”“We’ll talk to each other later, and you tell me what you think (about it)!”

We will now revisit the verb fare, which often comes up when someone needs to/must do something or requests that someone else do something. To ask for a favor politely, you could use the (by now, well-known) verb può with fare to make the phrase, “Mi può farmi un favore?” for “Could you do me a favor?” More often, the same request is made between two people who know each other well using the familiar command form of this phrase: “Fammi un favore!” for “Do me a favor! Piacere also works interchangeably with favore in this expression, as in, “Fammi un piacere!”

Notice that, when attaching a direct object to the familiar command verb fa, the first letter of the direct object is doubled. This holds true for mi,ti, lo, la, ci, and vi. Below are some commonly used expressions that combine the command form of fare with direct object pronouns.

Fammi un favore!

Do me a favor!

Fammi un piacere!

Do me a favor!

Fatti vedere!

Come and see me! (lit. Make yourself seen!)

Fatti sentire!

Call me! (lit. Make yourself heard!)

Fallo!

Do it!

Fammi can also be used in an idiomatic way, with the meaning, “let me,” when followed by an infinitive verb, such as “Fammi vedere” for “Let me see” or “Fammi chiamare” for “Let me call.”

Fammi vedere…

Let me see…

Fammi chiamare…

Let me call…

Two additional important familiar commands with direct objects that we have encountered in Chapter 8 are given here again:

Dimmi!

Tell me!

Dammi!

Give me!

Speak Italian: About Italian Movies and Love
You Will Need to Know…

How to Say “Myself, Himself, Herself”

To emphasize that one has done something for “himself,” we can use the following phrases in Italian listed below. Stesso(a) is the singular form for “self,” and stesso(i) is the plural form. The usual rules for Italian masculine (o,i) and feminine (a,e) endings apply. Remember that the “i” ending applies to a group of all males and to both males and females.

me stesso(a)

myself

te stesso(a)

yourself

se stesso(a)

himself/herself

noi stessi(e)

ourselves

voi stessi(e)

yourselves

loro stessi(e)

themselves

Speak Italian: About Italian Movies and Love
You Will Need to Know…

How to Talk About Beginnings and
What Comes Before

When the reference is about something that has happened “in the beginning,” we can use one of the following three phrases. These phrases can be placed at the beginning or the end of the sentence.

The word primo means first and is one of the ordinal numbers (the ordinal numbers are first, second, third…). Remember that the endings of the ordinal numbers will change in Italian to reflect the gender and number of the noun modified. So when talking about the first of several things, we can use primo and change the ending to match the noun it follows, as below:

il primo

first

(la prima, i primi, le prime)

first

il primo piano

the first floor (one up from the ground floor in an Italian building)

il primo tempo
il secondo tempo

the first part/the second part (phrases used in early Italian movie theaters when a movie would be shown with an intermission)

la prima volta

the first time (general phrase to refer to the time something happened)

la prima classe

the first class

la prima cosa

the first thing

Per prima cosa…

(For) the first thing… (use per to show intent)

La prima cosa è molto importante.The first thing is very important.

Per prima cosa di mattino, mi preparo un buon caffè..First thing in the morning, I will make myself a good (cup of) coffee.

Here are some additional important expressions that use prima to denote important “firsts”:

a prima vista

at first sight/at a glance

a tutta prima

at first sight/on first impression

prima visione

first run of a movie or show (premiere)

prima puntata

first episode (TV series) (premiere)

prima serata

first night of a performance (show) (premiere)

prima squadra

first team (sports)

prima base

first base

prima pagina

first page/front page (newspaper, magazine)

opera prima

first work/debut of a novel or film

in prima battuta

as a first step

in prima istanza

in the first place, as a start

in prima persona

in first person (grammar)/personally

The feminine word prima is also often used in phrases to denote the following ideas: earlier/early, previously, once, at one time. With regard to time, prima means before; with regard to space, prima means in front of and before (something). In these cases, prima is part of an expression, and its feminine “a” ending may or may not agree with the noun in the phrase.

prima luce del giorno

daybreak/the first light of day

prima mattina

early morning/early in the morning

prima maniera

early style (reference to art)

prima o poi

sooner or later

ancora prima

even earlier/even before

della prima ora

from the very beginning/immediately

amici come prima

friends again (like before)

ancora prima

even before

il giorno prima

the day before, the previous day

mai visto prima

never seen before

non prima di

not before

prima d’ora

before now, beforehand

prima linea

front line (of battle)

Speak Italian: About Italian Movies and Love
You Will Need to Know…

How to Talk About Endings and
What Comes Next, After, and Last

The word prossimo(a,i,e) means next and is often used to refer to time. Prossimo follows the usual rules for adjectives and changes depending on the noun modified.

il giorno prossimo

the next day

la settimana prossima

the next week

l’anno prossimo

the next year

Dopo means after. Dopo always ends in the masculine “o”—its ending will not change, no matter what noun it modifies.

domani

tomorrow

dopodomani

the day after tomorrow

la settimana dopo

the week after

l’anno dopo

the year after

Italians often refer to the years after World War II with the phrases below. In this case, there is no need to mention the exact name of the war (Seconda Guerra Mondiale), which most Italians still remember took place from 1939 to 1945.

dopo la guerra

after the war

il dopoguerra

the aftermath of the war

Scorso(a,i,e) means last. The ending of the adjective scorso will change to match the noun it is modifying in the sentence.

ieri

yesterday

l’altro ieri

the day before yesterday

la settimana scorsa

last week

l’anno scorso

last year

Use recentemente and più recentemente to mean recently and most recently.

recentemente

recently

più recentemente

most recently

L’ultimo means the last (one) or final(one), and per ultimo is the adverb that means lastly or finally. Finalmente also means finally.

Perhaps the most famous Italian phrase to use this word is “L’Ultima Cena,” or “The Last Supper,” from the Christian religion.

l’ultimo

the last

per ultimo

lastly, finally

per l’ultima volta

for the last time

non più da…

not since… (a long time has passed since…)

Liu è l’ultimo uomo che io sposerei.He is the last man that I would marry.

So, finally, finalmente, how do we say, “the end” in Italian? We use the word fine, but depending on the situation, we must modify fine with a masculine or a feminine definite article—il or la. Here is how it works:

il fine

the end – when the reference is to purpose

Il fine giustifica i mezzi. (Famous quote from Macchiavelli in his book The Prince)
The end justifies the means.

Important exceptionto this rule:il fine settimana = the end of the week

la fine

the end – when the reference is to time of a relationship, movie, or book

It is a very important film in the history of Italian cinema because it takes place at the end of the Second World War.

Speak Italian: About Italian Movies and Love
You Will Need to Know…

Che Means “That” and “What”
How to Use “Che” with Exclamations

The Italian word “che” has many, many uses as a conjunction to link one phrase to another in Italian and can never be omitted!

One of the most important meanings for che is “that.” Remember how important the word che is when we are using the subjunctive to refer to what someone else wants/likes/thinks? See our previous blog posts about the subjunctive for more information on this use of che.

Che is also commonly used as an interrogative expression meaning “What?”“Che?” “Che cosa?” and “Cosa?” all mean “What?” in Italian and are used interchangeably.

By now, you have no doubt heard the exclamation “Che bello!” or “How beautiful!” from anyone who has seen the rolling hills of the Italian countryside or a famous work of Italian art or architecture. “Che brutto!” and “Che fortuna!” are also popular Italian exclamations. In short, che, when used in an exclamation of this type, takes on the meaning of how. Of course, “Com’è bello?” means “How beautiful is it?” because the word come is the most often used to mean how.

Speak Italian: About Italian Movies and Love
You Will Need to Know…

When to Use “Che and “Chi” for “Who” and “Whom”

If we want to ask who has done something at the beginning of the sentence, we usually use the word “chi,” meaning “who.” Remember our common telephone greeting from our last blog post:

Pronto. Chi è? Chi parla?

Hello? Who is it? (telephone greeting uses essere)

But even more often, Italians use che to mean “who” or “whom.” If we want to refer to someone who has done something after an introductory phrase in a sentence, we must use che! In this case, our multitasking word che means “who” or “whom.”

Now let’s look at the many times che is used with the meaning of who or whom in the dialogues from this blog post. Don’t forget this very important use for the simple word che. And remember that although the che may be omitted in English, it is always needed to link phrases in Italian!

When speaking of a part of a whole, or an undetermined number of things, in English, the idea is rendered with the words some or any, as in “some of the” or “any of the.” In English, the translation with the partitive is always in the plural, which makes sense if you think of the partitive as the plural of the indefinite article a(un, uno, una, or un’).

Things are a little bit different in Italian, however, with two important Italian words that are often used to express the meaning of some, any or afew, a certain amount: qualche and alcuni/alcune.

Below are the rules of use for these two partitives, which are actually quite simple.

The word qualche, which is invariable, is always followed by a singular noun.

The words alcune or alcuni are always followed by a plural noun.

Qualche and alcuni/alcune are frequently used in everyday conversation to talk about a broad spectrum of situations and things. Time, for instance. Or groups of people. Qualche and alcuni/alcune are often used to start a sentence, but of course are also used in dependent phrases.

For qualche: Just put qualche in front of the Italian singular noun for the segment of time or the people you are referring to. Never mind that in English, we would use the plural (and that this is the correct translation).

For alcuni/alcune: Just put alcuni or alcune in front of the Italian plural noun for the segment of time or the people you are referring to, matching alcuni with the male gender noun and alcune with the female gender noun, of course.

Notice that in every situation below, the English translation will be the same, and always in the plural, no matter which partitive is chosen!

Qualche volta…

Sometimes…

Alcune volte…

Qualche giorno…

Some days…

Alcuni giorni…

qualche ora

some hours

alcune ore

qualche minuto

some minutes

alcuni minuti

qualche persona

some people

alcune persone

qualche amico

some friends (male or male/female group)

alcuni amici

qualche amica

some friends (female)

alcune amiche

Qualche is used in some very common expressions where alcuni/alcune are not used. These expressions make general statements about things or places. Use the table below to see how these expressions work.

An exception to the rules we’ve mentioned occurs with the first expression, where the meaning is in the singular in Italian and the translation is singular in English. So by definition, the plural words alcuni/alcune cannot be used!

qualche cosa

something

qualche cosa

some things

alcune cose

qual cos’altro

something else

qualsiasi cosa

anything

da qualche parte

somewhere

******************************

When it comes to use of qualche and alcuni/alcune, it should be noted that…

Neither qualche nor alcune/alcuni can be used in every situation. Qualche and alcune/alcuni can be used to talk about portions of food or other things.

But if the noun being modified is made up of a quantity that is not easily divisible, such as a liquid like milk, water, or soup, or an indivisible mass, like a loaf of bread or a cake, qualche and alcune/alcuni cannot be used. Instead, the idea of “some” is rendered by “di + definite article” or “un po’ di.”

The reflexive, direct, and indirect object pronouns come before the verb or are attached to the end of an infinitive verb after dropping the final infinitive –e.

Disjunctive Pronouns

with prepositions

me

me

a/con/per me

to/with/for me

te

you (fam.)

a/con/per te

to/with/for you (fam.)

Lei

you (pol.)

a/con/per Lei

to/with/for you (pol.)

lei

her

a/con/per lei

to/with/for her

lui

him

a/con/per lui

to/with/for him

sè

itself, herself, himself

yourself

a/con/per sè

to/with/for itself, herself, himself

to/with/for yourself

noi

us

a/con/per noi

to/with/for us

voi

you all (fam.)

a/con/per voi

to/with/for you all

loro

them

a/con/per loro

to/with/for them

sè

themselves

a/con/per sè

to/with/for themselves

Speak Italian: About Italian Movies and Love
You Will Need to Know…

Double Object Pronouns

The verb dare (to give) is commonly used in conversation while dining and asking for food and other items to be passed around the table. In this situation, it also becomes necessary to say not only what item we are giving away, but to whom we are giving the item. In effect, we are combining direct and indirect object pronouns in the same sentence!

The use of double object pronouns comes up frequently in many, many other situations as well.

When both object pronouns refer to the same verb, the word order in Italian and rules are as follows in the table below:

(1) The indirect object pronouns mi, ti, ci, and vi will change their –i to an –e when placed before the direct object pronouns lo, la, li, le, and ne, to become me, te, ce, and ve (see Chapters 17 and 18 of Conversational Italian for Travelers for how to use ne).

(2) Gli will add an e and become gliewhen placed before the direct objects lo, la, li, le, and ne. The direct object will then be added directly to glie to make glielo, gliela, glieli,and gliele.

Use glie for men and women (to replace le for women, as well as gli for men).

(3) When using a helping verb + infinitive verb combination, simply drop the –e from the end of the infinitive verb, combine the objects in the usual order, and attach the combined objects to the end of the infinitive verb.

Let’s give this a try by changing some example sentences without pronouns into sentences with pronouns. We will list the English first, then the Italian, one step at a time, so that by the last example, both sentences will contain double object pronouns. Watch the placement of the pronouns, which stay after the verb in English, but take a position before the verb in Italian. To help you follow this process, the verbs will be ingreen, the direct object pronouns will be in brown, and the indirect object pronouns will be in red.

Kathy givesthe butter to me.

Caterina dail burroa me.

Kathy gives me the butter.

Caterina midail burro.

Kathy givesitto me.

Rule (1)

Caterina me loda.

The waiter givesthe menu to Peter.

Il cameriere dail menù a Pietro.

The waiter gives himthe menu.

Il cameriere glida il menù.

The waiter givesit to him.

Rule (2)

Il cameriereglieloda.

The waiter givesthe menuto Kathy.

Il cameriere dail menù a Caterina.

The waiter givesherthe menu.

Il cameriere leda il menù.

The waiter givesit to her.

Rule (2)

Il cameriereglielo da.

(I) want to givemy bread to you.

Voglio dareil mio pane a te.

(I) want to give it to you.

Rule (3)

Vogliodartelo.

Speak Italian: About Italian Movies and Love
You Will Need to Know…

Direct Object Pronouns and the Passato Prossimo

Several rules must be followed when using the Italian direct object pronouns with the passato prossimo form of the Italian past tense.

(1) The direct object pronoun is placed before the passato prossimo compound verb.

(2) The third person singular direct object pronouns (lo, la, and La) usually drop their vowel before the letter h, especially in conversation.

(3) The last vowel of the past participle must agree in gender and number with the object that it refers to when using the third person singular and plural.

Let’s see how this works if we want to shorten the answer to a commonly asked question: “Hai visto Pietro?”(“Have you seen Peter?”) We could answer, “L’ho visto,” for “I saw him,” following rules (1) and (2).

Hai visto Pietro?

Have (you) seen Peter?

Lo ho visto.

Rule (1)

I saw him.

L’ho visto.

Rule (2)

I saw him.

So far, so good. The words “L’ho” flow easily together and are spoken as one word, short and sweet. However, if we were looking for Caterina, we would need to also change the ending of the past participleof the verb to agree with the feminine direct object pronoun ending, which we have just dropped! So our phrase would instead be “L’ho vista,” for “I saw her.” We have to follow rules (1), (2), and (3) to make one short sentence!

Hai visto Caterina?

Have (you) seen Kathy?

La ho vista.

Rules (1) (3)

I saw her.

L’ho vista.

Rule (2)

I saw her.

And, finally, for the plural forms, when referring to two males or a male and a female, we need to use the direct object li and the letter i for the past participle. If we should see two women, we would use the direct object le and the letter e for the past participle. These examples below follow Rules (1) and (3).

How well do you remember phrases to use when chatting with a friend or talking about the movies or love? Fill in the blanks for the phrases in the Italian sentences in the exercise below, then check your work with the dialogue in the first section. If you like, write about an Italian love story of your own!

“Mamma mia! Che _________ terribile! Ma, dove l’hai visto? _______________________ questo ____________________.”“Wow! What a terrible name (title). But where did you see it? I’ve never heard about this film.”

“È un film molto importante _________________________________________________________ perché _________________________________ alla fine della Seconda Guerra Mondiale.
“It is a very important film in the history of Italian cinema because it takes place at the end of the Second World War.

È un film molto lirico e appasisonato, perché è ______________________________________.It is a very lyrical and passionate film, because it is a love story.

La storia ______________________________________________ è cominciata quando _______________ _______________________________ per la prima volta sulla spiaggia a Rimini.The story of the two main characters started when the two loversmet each other for the first time on the beach at Rimini.

Suo marito, che era un capitano nell’esercito italiano, era appena morto. Roberta aveva una figlia di tre anni e viveva con la madre a Rimini, per scappare dalla guerra a Bologna.Her husband, who was a captain in the Italian army, had just died. She had a three-year-old daughter and lived with her mother at Rimini, in order to escape from the war in Bologna.

Il momento in cui Carlo ha visto Roberta, _________________________________________. Dopo _________________________________ sulla spiaggia, lui _________________________________ per lei.When Carl first saw Roberta, he liked her right away. After their first meeting on the beach, he lost his head over her (English = fell head over heels for her).

Cosi, Carlo ha incominciato ______________________________ Roberta.
So, Carl started to court Roberta. (English = Carl tried to get Roberta to be his girlfriend.)

Dopo un po’, i due hanno cominciato a uscire insieme. Si sono visti ogni giorno. A Roberta piaceva molto _____________________________ con Carlo. _____________________.After a while, the two of them started to go out together. They saw each other every day. And Roberta really liked her relationship with Carl. She loved him.

_________________________________________________.”“Unfortunately, their romanceended in a bad way. I wish that their story had ended in a good way instead. I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Capisco. _________________________________________ fra Roberta e Carlo era molto triste. Non mi piace quando la fine di un film è cosi.”“I understand. The end of the relationship between Roberta and Carlo was very sad. I don’t like when a film ends like this.”

“Ma gli attori _________________________________ molto bene in questo film. Se vuoi, ti lo do e puoi vedere per te stessa.”
“But the actors played their parts very well in this film. If you want, I will give it to you and you can see for yourself.”

“Grazie. Dammelo! _____________________ l’ultimo DVD che mi hai dato il mese scorso. Parliamone dopo!”
“Thank you. Give it to me! I really enjoyed the last DVD that you gave me last month. We’ll talk about it later!”“Si certamente è __________________________________________! Ed anche per capire l’Italia durante il dopoguerra.”“Yes, it is certainly worth itto see (watch) this movie! And to understand Italy during the aftermath of the war.”

“Ci parliamo dopo e _________________________________!”“We’ll talk to each other later and you tell me what you think (about it)!”

Kathryn Occhipinti, MD, is the author of theConversational Italian for Travelersseries of books and a teacher of Italian for travelers to Italy in the Peoria and Chicago area.“Everything you need to know to enjoy your visit to Italy!”

Visitlearntravelitalian.com/download.html to purchase/download Conversational Italian for Travelers and find more interesting facts and helpful hints about getting around Italy!Learn how to buy train tickets online, how to make international and local telephone calls, and how to decipher Italian coffee names and restaurant menus, all while gaining the basic understanding of Italian that you will need to know to communicate easily and effectively while in Italy. —From the staff at Stella Lucente, LLC

Can you speak Italian? By now, many of you have passed the beginning stages of learning how to speak Italian and can read and comprehend quite a bit of the language. Meraviglioso!

But have you tried to take the next step to speak Italian fluently? Can you talk about all the things that are nearest and dearest to your heart in Italian? Can you speak Italian the way you would speak in your native language, with complex and varied sentences? This is more difficult than it may seem at first, and it’s something that I am always working on! This series will focus on the situations that have come up most frequently in my everyday conversations with Italian instructors and friends. The “Speak Italian” blog series willfocus on the type of sentence structure and vocabulary we all need to remember to be more fluent when we speak Italian!

To take that giant step from simple beginning sentences to more complex and fluid sentences in Italian, we must know many things; in this segment, we will discuss how to use possessive adjectives in Italian, phrases for storytelling, reciprocal reflexive verbs, and the special ways to say we love and miss someone using the Italian verbs volere and mancare!

In the “Speak Italian” blog series, a short essay or dialogue in Italian will be presented about a commonly used topic of conversation. Then, we will review the Italian grammar that is necessary to talk about the particular topic in detail. And finally, the same material will be presented in Italian and English, with blanks for the reader to fill in with descriptions from his or her own life! Remember these examples about yourself as “anchors” in your knowledge for when you must speak Italian in your next conversation!

Enjoy the third topic in this series, “Speak Italian: A Story About… Love!”—Kathryn Occhipinti

In every life, we experience many types of love—country, family, and of course, one’s own true love. So it is important to learn the special Italian phrases to speak about what we love. I’ve adapted the story of one of my grandmothers, who emigrated from Italy in the 1920s, into a short essay about her struggles in Italy and in America, and the love that she was able to find in her life. Of course, this material has been adapted to be a learning tool, and this essay is not meant to be a complete biography.

While reading about my grandmother’s three great loves—her countries, her family, and her husband—think about yourself and what you truly love. Read the grammar section if you like. Then, use the blank spaces in the form that follows to fill in the Italian for your own life!

Speak Italian: A Story About… Love!

When I was young, when I was about 7 years old, I asked my grandmother to tell me her story. And this is what she said to me:

My story is a story of many great loves. When I was young, I lived in Sicily, and I loved my town Ragusa very much. Ragusa is on top of a big mountain but is also near the sea. Every day I could see the sunrise and the sunset over the south of Sicily, and it was very beautiful! I loved Sicily very much!

I had five brothers and sisters—two brothers and three sisters. I was the oldest in the family, and when I was 12 years old, I had to leave school. I had to help my mother take care of my sisters and my brothers. Before I went to bed, every night I said to my mother, “Do you love me?” And my mother replied, “I love you very much!”

And at Ragusa, there was also a boy named Peter who was 2 years older than me. Peter grew up on the same street as my family. When he became older, Peter was tall and handsome, a good person, and was very nice to me. I loved him. I became his girlfriend, but in secret.

Peter’s father, Paul, was also a good person and decided to make a better life for his family and go to America. In 1916, when Peter was 16 years old, Paul brought the family to America. There was a lot of work for Paul, who was a bricklayer and helped to build many buildings that are still well known in New York today. Peter’s father made a lot of money, and the family was very well off.

Peter also worked every day and learned his father’s trade. But Peter was not happy. He wrote me in many letters that New York was ugly. He missed his beautiful Sicily. He missed me! In Sicily, I missed Peter!

The definite article (il, la, i, or le) must be added before the possessive adjective when we describe the things that we possess. In this case, both the definite article and the possessive adjective will match the gender and number of the noun that is being modified. Remember, in Italian, we do not think about who is doing the possessing, but about what is being possessed!

It should be noted that the definite article can be omitted if the speaker wants to emphasize ownership of a particular thing when using the verb essere. If someone wants to stress his ownership of a car, for instance, he would simply say, “È mia” for “(It) is mine,” and omit the definite article la and the word macchina. In English, we use mine instead of my, ours instead of our, and yours instead of your after the verb “to be” in a similar way. This is called the stressed form of the possessive adjective.

Also, the expression “a casa mia,” with the possessive adjective placed alone, after the noun, is idiomatic and means “at/to my house.” The other possessive forms can be used as well with this phrase, as in “a casa tua” (at your house) or “a casa sua” (at his/her house).And it can always be “colpa mia,” or “my fault.”

Speak Italian: You Will Need to Know…

How to Use Italian Possessive Adjectives with Family Members

When speaking of only one family member, do not use the definite article!

mio cugino = my cousin

When speaking of more than one family member, the definite article must be used.

i miei cugini =my cousins

If using an adjective to describe family members, the definite article must be used.

“Caterina è la mia cara cugina.” =“Kathy is my dear cousin.”

Singular and Plural Possessive Adjectives for Family

mio/mia

my

i miei/le mie

tuo/tua

your (familiar) singular

i tuoi/le tue

suo/sua

your (polite) singular/his/her/its

i suoi/le sue

nostro/nostra

our

i nostri/le nostre

vostro/vostra

your (familiar) plural

i vostri/le vostre

illoro/la loro

their

i loro/le loro

La Mia Famiglia Femminile/Female Members of My Family

mia madre

my mother

(la) mia mamma

my mom

mia sorella

my sister(s)

le mie sorelle

mia nonna

my grandmother(s)

le mie nonne

mia zia

my aunt(s)

le mie zie

mia figlia

my daughter(s)

le mie figlie

mia cugina

my female cousin(s)

le mie cugine

La Mia Famiglia Maschile/Male Members of My Family

mio padre

my father

(il) mio papà

my dad

mio fratello

my brother(s)

i miei fratelli

mio nonno

my grandfather(s)

i miei nonni

mio zio

my uncle(s)

i miei zii

mio figlio

my son(s)

i miei figli

mio cugino

my cousin(s)

i miei cugini

Always use il mio fidanzato or la mia fidanzata for a boyfriend/fiancé or girlfriend/fiancée who are not yet part of the family! This also applies to la mia ex moglie and il mio ex marito, my ex-wife and my ex-husband.

If a pet, or animale domestico, such as a cat or a dog, is a part of your family, use the definite article when referring to them. So, my cat or my dog would be il mio gato or il mio cane. The endings of the nouns that refer to animals do not need to be changed to match their gender. But, if it is important to emphasize that you have a male or a female animal, see below:

il gato

il mio gato

the cat

my cat (any gender or a male cat)

il mio gato

il mio gato maschio

the male cat

my male cat

la mia gata

la mia gata femmina

the female cat

my female cat

il cane

il mio cane

the dog

my dog (any gender or a male dog)

il mio cane

il mio cane maschio

the male dog

my male dog

la mia cagna

la mia cagna femmina

the female dog

my female dog

When speaking in Italian of two family members or objects of the same gender and number, link them with the word “and,” which is “e” in Italian. The possessive pronoun does not need to be repeated. That said, the tendency in Italian is to repeat the possessive pronoun anyway.

The possessive pronoun must be used for each person/thing linked with the word “and” when the gender or number of the person/thing differs.

Note that in English, it is not necessary to repeat the word “my,” although “my” can be repeated to emphasize that one is speaking of two different types of groups.

mio fratello e cugino or mio fratello e mio cugino

my brother and cousin

mio fratello e mia sorella

my brother and sister

mio fratello e i miei cugini

my brother and my cousins

Speak Italian: You Will Need to Know…

How to Talk about Siblings and Children

When talking about siblings in Italian, the idea is expressed with the Italian plural word fratelli. This masculine plural noun refers to a group of all male siblings and to a group of both male and female siblings. Therefore, the number of brothers and sisters must be specified in the next sentence—and all endings changed into either masculine or feminine.

Remember to use unfratello for one male sibling and unasorella for one female sibling.

Ho due fratelli.

I have two siblings (brothers and sisters or just brothers).

Ho un fratello e una sorella.

I have one brother and one sister.

Remember to use fratelli for a group of brothers and sorelle for a group of sisters.

Ho cinque fratelli.

I have five siblings (brothers and sisters or just brothers).

Ho due fratelli e tre sorelle.

I have two brothers and three sisters.

When talking about one’s own or someone else’s children in Italian, the idea is expressed with the Italian plural word figli (which otherwise means sons). This masculine word refers to a group of all male children and to a group of both male and female children. It then becomes necessary to use additional nouns to categorize the children as male or female in the next sentence, and all endings must be changed into either masculine or feminine.

Remember to use unofiglio maschio for one male child and unafiglia femmina for one female child.

Ho due figli.

I have two children./I have two boys and girls.

Ho un figlio maschio e una figlia femmina.

I have one boy and one girl.

Remember to use figli maschi for a group of male children and figlie femmine for a group of female children.

Ho cinque figli.

I have five children./I have five boys and girls.

Ho due figli maschi e tre figlie femmine.

I have two brothers and three sisters.

Speak Italian: You Will Need to Know…

When to use “Che” to Connect Phrases in Italian

“Che” has many meanings in Italian,and is used in many ways. This little word will come up often in spoken and written Italian. The first and probably most important meaning that is found in most every dictionary, though, is the conjunctive “that.” While in English, many times we leave out the word “that” when linking two phrases together to make a complex sentence, in Italian this word can almost never be omitted.

A couple of important examples were underlined in are dialogue to make this point and are reprinted here. Learning how and when to incorporate “che” into an Italian sentence will take one a long way to becoming fluent in Italian, so listen closely for this word!

To link the phrase “this is what” to a second phrase.

E questo è quello che mi ha detto:And this is what (that) she said to me:

2. To mention something or someone and then give its actual name.

Mi piaceva molto il mio paese che si chiama Ragusa.( Italian: I loved my town very much that is called Ragusa.)
I loved my town Ragusa very much.

Speak Italian: You Will Need to Know…

When to use “Che” to Connect Phrases in Italian

“Che” has many meanings in Italian,and is used in many ways. Below are two more uses for the Italian word che, with two different meanings.

Che is also commonly used as an interrogative expression meaning, “What?”“Che?” “Che cosa?” and “Cosa?” all mean “What?” in Italian, and are used interchangeably. Two of the most commonly spoken phrases where che is used this way are below:

Che succede?

What’s happening?

Che è successo?

What happened?

And by now you have no doubt heard the exclamation, “Che bello!” which means, “How beautiful!” or “How wonderful!” from anyone who has seen the rolling hills of the Italian countryside or a famous work of Italian art or architecture. Additional examples are listed below. In short, che when used in an exclamation of this type takes on the meaning of how. Of course, “Com’è bello?” means “How beautiful is it?” since the word come is the most often used to mean how in most other situations.

Che bello!

How beautiful!

How wonderful!

Che brutta (figura)!

How ugly!

How terrible!

Che fortuna!

How lucky!

What good fortune!

Speak Italian: You Will Need to Know…

How to Say “I Love You” in Italian

“Ti voglio bene” is an idiomatic expression in Italian, which translates roughly as, “I wish you well,” or better, “I care for you.” It originates from the verb volersi, which takes on a different meaning than the verb volere. The meaning of this verb is not easily translated into English, but is used often in Italy for many different situations.

“Ti voglio bene” is an old expression that is still used for platonic forms of caring and loving among family members and close friends in Italy today. The expression can be used between a boyfriend and a girlfriend and is also used between a husband and a wife. Watch some older Italian movies, and you will hear this expression often!

Mi voui bene?

Do you care for/about me?

Ti voglio bene.

I care for/about you.

The verb amare, which means “to love,” is reserved for romantic love—that one true love held between fiancée and fiancé, wife and husband.

Mi ami?

Do you love me?

Ti amo.

I love you.

Ti amo per sempre.

I will always love you.

Finally, some phrases for when you have fallen out of love:

Non ti voglio più bene.

I don’t like/care for you anymore.

Non ti amo più.

I don’t love you anymore.

Speak Italian: You Will Need to Know…

Common Phrases to Begin a Story Paragraph

Da giovane…

When I was young…

Da grande…

When I grew up…

Quando ero più vecchio(a)…

When I was older…

Nel 1928…

In 1928…

C’era una volta…
Una volta c’era…

Once upon a time…
In the past there was… / Once there was…

Allora…

In those days…

Per prima cosa…

For the first thing…

Dapprima…

Initially…

Prima…/Poi…

First…/Then…

Prima o poi…

Sooner or later…

Fin dall’inizio…

From the beginning…

Da ora in poi…

From now on…

Da allora in poi…

From then on…
From that moment on…

Speak Italian: You Will Need to Know…

Verbs That Take the Preposition “A”

Some Italian verbs need to be followed by the Italian word “a,” which in this case means “to,” before the addition of an infinitive verb to make a complete sentence. This may seem a little redundant at first, because in English, a verb in its infinitive form already includes the word “to.” To the Italian speaker, though, it is natural to insert the word a after the verbs on the list that follows—the phrases just sound correct this way.

Two important phrases to remember that use this rule are “andare a trovare” (“to go to visit”) and “venire a trovare”(“to come to visit”), which are used when visiting a person. The noun visitare can be used when you want to speak about a place you are visiting.

Don’t memorize this list, but instead try to listen for the “a” when these phrases come up in conversation, and soon it will become natural for you, also, to say these phrases correctly.

aiutare

to help

Aiuto mia mamma a … cucinare la cena.

andare

to go

Vado a … trovare mio cugino Pietro in Italia.

cominciare

to start

Comincio a … cucinare la cena.

divertirsi

to enjoy oneself

Mi divertito a … suonare il violino.

imparare

to learn

Tutti imparano a … parlare italiano.

insegnare

to teach

Lei insegna a … parlare la lingua francese.

invitare

to invite

Lui l’invita a … mangiare al ristorante.

mandare

to send

Io mando Pietro a … prendere una pizza.

prepararsi

to get ready

Mi preparo a … viaggiare in Italia.

venire

to come

Caterina viene a … trovare i suoi cugini.

Speak Italian: You Will Need to Know…

Reciprocal Reflexive Verbs, Including Sposarsi

Reciprocal reflexive verbs are used in the special situation when two people perform the same action together; this will make both people the subjectof the action. Therefore, the reciprocal reflexive verbs are conjugated in their plural form, using the plural subject and reflexive pronouns: (noi) ci, (voi) vi, or (loro) si. For conversation, the noi and loro forms will be the most important to remember. To express this type of situation in English, we simply add the phrase “each other,” after the verb.

Here is how this verb form works: for instance, everyone knows that “Ci vediamo” means “We (will) see each other.” So if the speaker is involved in the action with someone else—we are doing the action—use the noi verb conjugation and put ci in front of the verb.

Another common phrase is “Si abbracciano e si baciano,” which means “They hug and kiss each other.” If two people are being talked about—they are doing the action—use the loro verb conjugation and put si in front of the verb.

A quick word about sposarsi. It is one of those reflexive verbs that translates as “to get” married. We talked about these “to get” verbs in the last blog in this series. So if a person wants to say, “I want to get married” in Italian, this would be “(Io) voglio sposarmi.”

As we know, the subject pronouns are almost always omitted in conversation, and this applies to reciprocal reflexive verbs as well—hence the parentheses in the examples that follow!

Io e Francesca ci vogliamo bene.

Frances and I care for each other very much.

(Noi) Ci sposiamo oggi.

We (will) marry each other today.

(Noi) Ci scriviamo ogni giorno.

We write each other every day.

(Noi) Ci vediamo al teatro.

We (will) see each other at the theater.

(Noi) Ci vogliamo bene.

We love each other very much.

Caterina e Zia Rosa si salutano.

Kathy and Aunt Rose greet each other.

Michele e Francesca si volgiono bene.

Michael and Frances care for each other very much.

(Loro) si vogliono bene.

(They) care for each other very much.

(Loro) Si incontrano.

They meet each other.

(Loro) Si telefonano ogni giorno.

They telephone each other every day.

Listed below are verbs that commonly use the reciprocal reflexive form:

abbracciarsi

to hug each other

aiutarsi

to help each other

amarsi

to love each other

baciarsi

to kiss each other

chiamarsi

to call each other

conoscersi

to get to know each other

fidanzarsi

to become engaged

guardarsi

to look at each other

incontrarsi

to meet each other (planned meeting)

odiarsi

to hate each other

parlarsi

to speak to each other

salutarsi

to greet each other

scriversi

to write each other

sposarsi

to marry each other

telefonarsi

to call each other

trovarsi

to meet each other

vedersi

to see each other

Speak Italian: You Will Need to Know…

Passato Prossimo Verbs That Take Essere

Here is a list of the most common action verbs that take essere when forming the passato prossimo, which is the verb form used to describe going from one place to another or “passing through” life—growing/living/dying. The infinitive form is in the first column, and the corresponding past participle is listed in the third column; notice that some past participles will be regular and others irregular.

It should also be noted that all reflexive verbs, as well as piacere, take essere.

accadere

to happen

accaduto(a)(i,e)

happened

andare

to go

andato(a)(i,e)

went

arrivare

to arrive

arrivato(a)(i,e)

arrived

cadere

to fall

caduto(a)(i,e)

fell

cambiare

to change

cambiato(a)(i,e)

changed

cominciare+

to begin

cominciato(a)(i,e)

began

diventare

to become

diventato(a)(i,e)

became

entrare

to enter

entrato(a)(i,e)

entered

finire+

to finish

finito(a)(i,e)

finished

iniziare+

to begin

iniziato(a)(i,e)

began

morire

to die

morto(a)(i,e)

dead

nascere

to be born

nato(a)(i,e)

born

partire

to leave

partito(a)(i,e)

left

passare*

to pass through

passato(a)(i,e)

past

piacere

to be pleasing to

piaciuto(a)(i,e)

pleased

restare

to remain

restato(a)(i,e)

remained

rompere

to break

rotto(a)(i,e)

broken

salire*

to go up

salito(a)(i,e)

went up

scendere*

to do down

sceso(a)(i,e)

went down

succedere

to happen

successo(a)(i,e)

happened

uscire

to go out

uscito(a)(i,e)

went out

venire

to come

venuto(a)(i,e)

came

+Some verbs, such as cominciare, finire, and iniziare, take avereexcept when the subject is a thing, rather than a person. So as we have learned in Chapter 11 of Conversational Italian for Travelers, “Io ho finito il libro,” “Tu hai finito il libro,” and “Lei/lui ha finito il libro,” but “Il film è finito,” for “The film is finished.” Notice that in the last example, the verb itself completes the sentence and refers back to the subject. (Finire is categorized as transitive in all of the examples except the last, when it is intransitive, but don’t worry about these terms!)

*Some verbs, such as passare, scendere, and salire take avere when used with a direct object, as in “Io ho sceso le scale” for “I have gone down the stairs.” Otherwise, they use essere: “Lui è sceso” for “He has gotten off.”

Grammar Point: Reflexive Verbs with the Passato Prossimo

All reflexive verbs form the passato prossimo with essere. Simply put the reflexive pronoun beforeessere and follow essere with the past participle as usual. Remember to change the ending of the past participle to reflect the gender of the person doing the action. See the example below with divertirsi (to enjoy oneself).With all the good times a visitor to Italy can expect, divertirsi is an essential verb to know in several different tenses!

Notice that the translation in English uses the verb to have, while Italian uses to be. So remember to think in Italian in this case!

Essersi divertito/To Have Enjoyed Oneself

io

mi sono

divertito(a)

I have enjoyed myself.

I enjoyed myself.

tu

ti sei

divertito(a)

You (familiar) have enjoyed yourself.

You (familiar) enjoyed yourself.

Lei/lei/lui

si è

divertito(a)

You (polite)/she/he have/has enjoyed herself/himself.

You (polite)/she/he enjoyed herself/himself.

noi

ci siamo

divertiti(e)

We have enjoyed ourselves.

We enjoyed ourselves.

voi

vi siete

divertiti(e)

You all have enjoyed yourselves.

You all enjoyed yourselves.

loro

si sono

divertiti(e)

They have enjoyed themselves.

They enjoyed themselves.

Grammar Point: Modal Verbs with Essere and the Passato Prossimo

We have seen how to use the modal verbs dovere, potere, and volere if the passato prossimo is formed with avere. The sequence to use is the same with essere; essere is conjugated to reflect the speaker, the past participle of the modal verb is added, and then the infinitive of the verb finishes the verb phrase.

There is one catch, though. Remember that we must change the past participle of the verbs that follow essere to reflect the gender of the speaker. In this case, the past participle is formed from the modal verb, so the ending of the modal verb must change!

Pietro è voluto partire alle sei stasera.

Peter wanted to leave at 6 tonight.

Caterina è dovuta andare a fare la spesa ieri.

Kathy had to go grocery shopping yesterday.

Speak Italian: You Will Need to Know…

When to Use the Passato Prossimo versus the Imperfetto

Here is a table to clarify the differences of the uses of the passato prossimo and the imperfetto past tense verb forms. Both will describe actions or events that have taken place in the past. The circumstances that surround each event determine the form to use. When narrating a story, use the imperfetto.

Passato Prossimo Imperfetto

Past action that took place once.

Past action that was habitual; done several times.

Stamattina ho telefonato a mia mamma.This morning I called my mother.

Telefonavo a mia mamma ogni mattina.I used to call my mother every day.

Past action that was performed a specific number of times.

Past action that took place over an extended period of time.

Sono andata dal medico per tre giorni di fila.I went to the doctor for 3 days in a row.

Andavo dal medico raramente quando ero giovane.I went to the doctor rarely when I was young.

Past action that was performed within a definite time period.

Past action that was performed within an indefinite time period, without a specific beginning and ending mentioned.

L’anno scorso è andato a scuola.Last year he went to school.

Da giovane, andava volentieri a scuola.When he was young, he used to go to school gladly.

Past states of being/having of a person or a thing in a specific time frame.

Past states of being/having of a person or a thing
(essere or avere used alone).

Ieri ho avuto fame tutto il giorno.

Yesterday I had hunger all day long.(English: I was hungry.)

Caterina è stata molto felice il giorno del suo compleanno.

Kathy was very happy on her birthday.

Io avevo fame.I used to have/had hunger.(English: I used to be/was hungry.)Caterina era felice.Kathy used to be/was happy.

In a compound sentence that involves two actions performed in the past, the completed action (usually given second) uses the passato prossimo.In a compound sentence that involves two actions performed in the past, the setting, or the ongoing situation (usually given first), uses the imperfetto.

Mentre nostro figlio dormiva, abbiamo guidato per molte ore.

While our son was sleeping, we drove for many hours.

Speak Italian: You Will Need to Know…

How to Conjugate and Use Mancare

The verb mancare has many meanings: to miss/to lose/to lack/to be lacking/to omit/to fail. Mancare is used to convey the idea of “to miss someone” very commonly in conversational Italian, so it is important to learn the conjugation and sentence structure for this verb.

To start off, you should know that the sentence structure used for mancare is the same as for the verb piacere (see the second blog in this series). In English, we say the subject of the sentence misses someone using the direct object (example: I miss John), whereas in Italian, this phrase is turned around and the subject is the person who is being missed.

The sentence structure in Italian can use the disjunctive pronoun.

example “I miss John”: John is missing to me. =Giovanni manca a me.

But more often, the Italian sentence uses the indirect object pronoun placed before the verb.

To make matters more confusing to the English speaker, the subject of the sentence—which can be somebody’s name, a subject pronoun, a place, or even an object—can be left out entirely as long as it is known from the context, as we see above.

But, in most cases the subject is then added to the end of the sentence for clarification.

example: “I miss John”: To me is missing John. = Mi manca Giovanni.

Think about this a bit and then read the present tense conjugation below. Notice that the tu and noi forms are irregular. These are marked with an asterisk.

Mancare/To Be Missing (To)

io

manco

I am missing (to…)

tu

manchi*

you (fam.) are missing (to…)

Lei

lei/lui

manca

you (polite) are missing (to…)

she/he/it is missing (to…)

noi

manchiamo*

we are missing (to…)

voi

mancate

you all are missing (to…)

loro

mancano

they are missing (to…)

The past tense of mancare is regular in the passato prossimo and takes essere. The passato prossimo form is often used. Consider the phrase “I missed you!” This implies that a definite period of absence has passed, and now the individuals are able to finally talk about their feelings. This is the past tense form for mancare that is most commonly used during conversation.

See below for the passato prossimo conjugation of mancare:

sono sei, è, with mancato(a)

siamo, siete sono with mancati(e)

The imperfetto form of mancare is regular as well, and is used most often for narration, as in our example story. In this case, the reference is to a nonspecific amount of time that people missed each other in the past.

See below for the imperfetto conjugation of mancare:

mancavo, mancavi, mancava

mancavamo, mancavate, mancavano

The sentences below give some common examples of how to use the verb mancare, first in present tense and then in past tense, with the passato prossimo. For easier understanding, the subject pronouns are included in parentheses, but remember that they are most often left out of the sentence, unless needed for clarification.

Everyone has a story to tell about themselves. What would you like others to know about what you find important in life? What are your great loves? Fill in the blanks in the Italian sentences in the exercise below, using examples from your own life.

Speak Italian: A Story about… Your Great Loves!

When I was young, when I was about 7 years old, I asked my grandmother to tell me her story. And this is what she said to me:

My story is a story of many great loves. When I was young, I lived in Sicily, and I loved my town of Ragusa very much. Ragusa is on top of a big mountain but is also near the sea. Every day I could see the sunrise and the sunset over the south of Sicily, and it was very beautiful! I loved Sicily very much!

I had five brothers and sisters—two brothers and three sisters. I was the oldest in the family, and when I was 12 years old, I had to leave school. I had to help my mother take care of my sisters and my brothers. Before I went to bed, every night I said to my mother, “Do you love me?” And my mother replied, “I love you very much!”

And at Ragusa, there was also a boy named Peter who was 2 years older than me. Peter grew up on the same street as my family. When he became older, Peter was tall and handsome, a good person, and was very nice to me. I loved him. I became his girlfriend, but in secret.

Peter’s father, Paul, was also a good person and decided to make a better life for his family and go to America. In 1916, when Peter was 16 years old, Paul brought the family to America. There was a lot of work for Paul, who was a bricklayer and helped to build many buildings that are still well known in New York today. Peter’s father made a lot of money, and the family was very well off.

Peter also worked every day and learned his father’s trade. But Peter was not happy. He wrote me in many letters that New York was ugly. He missed his beautiful Sicily. He missed me! In Sicily, I missed Peter!

Conversational Italian for Travelers Just the Important Phrases (with Restaurant Vocabulary and Idiomatic Expressions) is YOUR traveling companion in Italy! All the Italian phrases you need to know to enjoy your trip to Italy are right here and fit right into your pocket or purse.

Kathryn Occhipinti, MD, is the author of theConversational Italian for Travelersseries of books and a teacher of Italian for travelers to Italy in the Peoria and Chicago area.“Everything you need to know to enjoy your visit to Italy!”

Visitlearntravelitalian.com/download.html to purchase/download Conversational Italian for Travelers and find more interesting facts and helpful hints about getting around Italy!Learn how to buy train tickets online, how to make international and local telephone calls, and how to decipher Italian coffee names and restaurant menus, all while gaining the basic understanding of Italian that you will need to know to communicate easily and effectively while in Italy. —From the staff at Stella Lucente, LLC